Pages tagged “gary louris”

Former Jayhawks bandmates put history behind them to make some new memories

These new memories—thank the Americana gods—are riddled with Louris and Olson’s past, but there are hints of even older musical moments. Ready for the Flood reveals traces of The Kinks, the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield and even Procol Harum (check the organ on “My Gospel Song For You”) lingering in the minds of the makers. That the ghost of Gram Parsons haunts some of the tunes is less surprising but more than welcome. The production of Black Crowe Chris Robinson lends grit, but is never intrusive, letting the scruffy melodies and jigsaw-puzzle interlocking of these stellar voices do the heavy lifting. The few electric moments (“Bicycle” stands out) provide a different kind of tension, a gruff contrast to the straightforward acoustic timelessness of tracks like 
“Bloody Hands."

Ready for the Flood will hit record store shelves in January 2009.

Listen to tracks from Ready for the Flood on MySpace.

It takes little more than a (rare) fogless fall day to make a trip to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park worth quite a trek, but the long list of artists gracing its green fields during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival might help considerably if travel plans were somehow still in question. Oh, and the shows are free.

Mark Olson and Gary Louris recently announced that they're getting back together and making an album. Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson spoke with the pair about the news last week. Here is his full conversation with Louris:

Paste: So, how did this record come about?

Right now I'm listening to "Blue" by the Jayhawks off Tomorrow The Green Grass, and I'm feeling like all is right with the world. The two singer/songwriters behind this seminal country-rock record announced earlier this week that they've just finished recording a new record together —their first since Mark Olson  left the band in 1995. He and his then-wife Victoria Williams moved to Joshua Tree and began making music as The Creekdippers. I visited their little hose in the desert for the cover story of the very first issue of Paste.

I liked the music of The Creekdippers, and I like the music The Jayhawks continued to make after Olson left, but I'm more excited about the idea of them making music together again. Ready For the Flood is due out Sept. 16 on Hacktone Records. And I get to talk to both of them today about the new project. As always, let me know (quickly) if you've got any questions you'd like me to ask either. I'll also be interviewing Lori McKenna today.

Former Jayhawks frontman releases first-ever solo album

Gary Louris is one of the unsung heroes of contemporary roots music. His band The Jayhawks made one of alt.country’s landmark albums, 1992’s stately Hollywood Town Hall, and since then he has collaborated with a range of artists including Jeff Tweedy, Rhett Miller, The Sadies and the Dixie Chicks. Strangely, Vagabonds is his first solo album, shuffling onto shelves some 20 years into his career and three years since the (permanent?) dissolution of The Jayhawks. All of the Louris hallmarks are present: the low-key choruses on “Omaha Nights” and “D.C. Blues”; the dusty harmonies of “True Blue” and “Meandering”; the country-rock hooks of “She Only Calls Me On Sundays” and the title track. Certainly, Vagabonds sounds warmly familiar, but over 10 tracks, the album settles into a genial lull that even the punchy “I Wanna Get High” can’t rouse. Too low-key to rival his best work, the album nevertheless serves as a reminder of Louris’ continued relevance.